Columbus diocese has a priest take abuse reports

Sunday

In a procedure criticized by victim advocates, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus assigns a priest, rather than an outside coordinator, to take reports of clergy sex abuse from survivors.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus is one of only three dioceses in the country with a priest assigned to take reports of clergy sex abuse from survivors.

Several victim advocates, survivors and coordinators of victim assistance in other dioceses say having to meet with someone in the same uniform and position as the person who abused them as a child could re-traumatize survivors or dissuade from reporting abuse.

"If you're looking at survivors, their abuse was a cleric, so you're wanting to make sure you're not causing further trauma because it's someone in a collar," said Deacon Bernie Nojadera, executive director of the Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "It's all in the approach, in the manner the person carries out the ministry, and the competence."

In Columbus, all reports of clergy sex abuse — which come in as phone calls, emails and forms that the public can fill out — go to Monsignor Stephan Moloney, the vicar general and victim assistance coordinator.

Moloney, who is also the pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Upper Arlington, has been taking reports of child sex abuse by priests in the diocese since 1997. But he and many others across the country officially gained the title of victim assistance coordinator in 2002, when the conference of bishops started requiring the archdioceses and dioceses to create the position.

"I have always taken a pastoral approach to it," Moloney said.

He said that in the past 22 years, he has taken dozens of abuse reports, including a half-dozen or so involving priests in active ministry.

While Moloney acknowledged that survivors might be put off by meeting with a priest, he said his dual role has advantages. Those include that he can apologize on behalf of the diocese, offer pastoral care such as praying with or celebrating Mass for a survivor, and easily authorize financial assistance, which could include paying for counseling or rehab for a victim or offering a settlement.

In the nation's more than 175 archdioceses and dioceses, about 80 percent of people serving as victim assistance coordinators are women, Nojadera said. More than half also have training or experience in mental-health fields, according to a list on the website of the conference of bishops.

A 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report, which found that more than 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania sexually abused more than 1,000 children over decades, included results from an FBI review of diocesan practices. The FBI found that the dioceses in Pennsylvania did not "conduct genuine investigations with properly trained personnel" and "instead assign fellow clergy members to ask inadequate questions and then make credibility determinations about the colleagues with whom they live and work."

When asked about the Pennsylvania grand jury's recommendations, Columbus diocesan officials said they had considered bringing in an outside coordinator but had not yet found someone to take over the role.

"I'd certainly be open to that. ... I'm always willing to try to find someone else they can meet with," Moloney said.

He added that he already works with the chancellor, Deacon Thomas M. Berg Jr., and Regina Quinn, the diocesan safe environment director. The chancellor assists the bishop, in part by keeping archives, priest files and diocesan documents. Safe environment directors were established in each diocese by the same 2002 conference of bishops rule that created victim assistance coordinators. They are in charge of making sure all adult volunteers and staff members are trained to recognize signs of abuse.

The conference of bishops also requires each diocese to submit an annual written report of what they are doing to follow the rules created in 2002, and an auditor visits all dioceses every three years, Quinn said. The purpose of the audits is to see how the dioceses are implementing the rules.

"I certainly understand that victims may very well be put off by meeting with a priest," Moloney said. "Although I have to say — and I have met with dozens of victims over the years — I haven't gotten that reaction very often. Although I understand there could be those out there that are hesitating to come forward if they think they might be meeting with a priest."

Talking to a priest about being a victim of clergy abuse would "be of no value," said Ken Wilcox, who said he was molested as a teen by the late Monsignor Thomas Bennett while a student at St. Charles Preparatory School in Bexley.

"It seems that the Church is determined to fix this mess their way," Wilcox wrote in an email to The Dispatch. "I would suggest that the Church seek outside expertise to offer support to people who have been hurt."

Wilcox, 55, of Olde Towne East, is working with an attorney who has filed a lawsuit against the diocese and St. Charles in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on behalf of another victim. Wilcox said he never made an abuse report to the diocese because he didn't trust it to handle the situation fairly.

Quinn, however, said having clergy members tell survivors they believe them can be affirming.

"If a victim sees the monsignor say 'I believe you,' there can be healing there," Quinn said. "It's kind of a double-edged issue."

Read more: Columbus' new bishop says he hasn't been involved in sex abuse cases but allegations abound in his diocese

Carol Zamonski, coordinator of the Central Ohio Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) group, said, "It doesn't matter if that person is affirming."

"Unless the survivor asks for something like that, it's inappropriate to offer" a meeting with a clergy member or a Mass, she said. "People don't want to have to come forward and have to talk to a priest. ... It's not a trauma-informed situation. These people are clearly not trained to deal with people who have been through trauma."

The conference of bishops, a national coordinating and guiding body for the Catholic Church, started requiring archdioceses and dioceses to create the position of victim assistance coordinator in 2002 on the heels of an investigation by The Boston Globe that revealed widespread sexual abuse in the archdiocese there. The newspaper's reporting of the scandal was later the subject of the movie "Spotlight."

The conference of bishops did not, however, specify whether a clergy member or outside person should serve in the role of victim assistance coordinator or what training or background the coordinator should have.

Moloney doesn't have a counseling degree, but like some other coordinators, he went through a 2003 training program offered by the conference of bishops on how church law says to respond to allegations of sexual abuse, Columbus diocesan spokesman George Jones said in an email to The Dispatch.

"This is in addition to the training and extensive experience he has received during his tenure as a priest in the Columbus Diocese," Jones wrote.

Moloney said he always apologizes to victims on behalf of the diocese.

"When it's coming from the vicar general, because I represent the diocesan church ... that means a lot to victims," he said.

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing

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